Home for a few weeks to catch up with paperwork and some home maintenance (wobbling on a ladder in the cold and rain cleaning out gutters, changing a tap washer, and so on...).....and then: back to the airport.
Out of bed at 03.30am for a crack-of-dawn flight of 2,040 miles from Perth to Sydney for four hours in an A330-200 at 1,000 kph that could take 304 passengers but was only about half full. Good connection (about an hour's wait) for another four hour flight on Fiji Airlines (Qantas partner) from Sydney to Nadi in Fiji.
The flight from Sydney to Nadi was full and the majority of passengers were families, obviously off on family holidays. I felt that I was on a 'school bus' trip!
When most people think of Fiji, they probably envisage a laid back, tropical atmosphere, South Pacific paradise...? So it was surprising to read this brief description:
Fiji is currently experiencing deteriorating physical infrastructure, growing squatter settlements, unproductive farms, and rising unemployment. Although access to health and education remains reasonably good by Pacific standards, the quality of services is poor, especially in rural areas. Already approximately one third of people in Fiji live below the poverty line, with rural Indo-Fijians and women being particularly vulnerable. Fiji is also showing signs of decline against some of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those related to health.
I was met at the airport by representatives of my next client for the 30-minute drive on a good road to Lautoka. I had four nights in a sporting 'club' but they were then fully booked and I relocated to a basic hotel in town for another four nights - at that stage no one had any idea WHERE I was going next as they were waiting for an apartment owner to decide, but he was waiting for a current tenant to actually move out before committing to someone new moving in!
The interim hotel was OK - rather basic and noisy and close to a night club which emanated the usual thumping bass noise until the wee small hours. The walls were concrete but not very effective at sound-proofing: on Saturday night, several women checked into the room adjacent to mine, and then the one adjacent to them - and they proceeded to have conversations between the rooms; through the walls, and I could clearly hear every word. Then there were those ignorant people that seem to think that the ONLY way to close any door is to slam it - no matter at what hour of the day or night!
This client was an organisation that offered a range of support, including professional counselling to those troubled by domestic violence, attempted suicide, discrimination, workplace problems, etc... In concert with many other organisations throughout the under-developed world, they had come to rely on funding (locally and from foreign governments) and grants to stay in existence. However, they could see the current trend of governments cutting back on foreign aid (Australia had just cut its foreign aid budget again and by a massive 30%) and they needed some guidance on how to accumulate self-generated funding in order to stay in business. The primary vehicle for this endeavour was to set up an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and charge for their services. I was telling my last client in PNG about this challenge and he reckoned that, if I could wave my magic wand and solve their problem that I'd "have a job for the next 20 years".
I had arrived in Fiji on a Monday and started work the next morning. I was asking for information and figures, and staff were helpful but slightly reticent to give me data as the CEO was away at a conference in Suva until the next Monday. The Friday was a public holiday for 'National Sports Day'. By the Thursday, I'd done an outline format (using estimated figures) to calculate what they needed to charge for consultation services to recover costs, produced a brochure promoting their services, contacted (and received a response) from an EAP organisation in Sydney, created a basic marketing plan and a review on fundraising for their services, etc.... The feedback comment I received from staff was: "But you've only been here for three days"!!
As mentioned: my accommodation on this one was a little spasmodic at the start. For the first four nights, I was located in a club (large room with king-sized bed, flat-screen TV with umpteen channels, air conditioned with a kitchen, bathroom) and located a five minute walk to the office....but: they were then fully booked. So: moved into a basic hotel (comfortable enough - just aged; only local TV station on a tiny screen), located a few minute's walk around a corner from the office. Then I moved to a little apartment (bed-sitter with kitchen and bathroom and comfortable enough) up a hill overlooking Lautoka. Although - the TV was a crackling noise accompanied by a snowstorm (still: only local station, so nothing lost there), the air-conditioner remote had no batteries so: no air con. And: I was wondering if there was an assassination attempt as I turned on the microwave which promptly emitted crackling noises (not unlike the television) accompanied by sparks and smoke - that was rapidly turned off. Then I attempted to test the grill on the little 2-burner gas (bottled) stove and a flame shot out of the back without igniting the grill - that was similarly summarily also turned off!
Another Aussie volunteer and his wife (Mark and Margaret) were in the same complex (in a 3-bedoom apartment) on a two year assignment to the same client as I was serving - but only six weeks for me.
Luckily Mark showed me the route (and an option) for the 30-minute walk to the office (we walked together - to/from the office for four days) - I have a lousy sense of direction, so that was much appreciated. Although I had been in Fiji before (and had wandered around the Pacific off-and-on for some 24 years) Mark had been in Fiji over a year and was most helpful in explaining indigenous and ethnic situations.
On occasions I could just hear the 'call to prayer' from the mosque in town. However: nearby to the accommodation was a local church - there was no 'call to prayer', or bells; but a rhythmic beating of drums, with the first rendition on Sunday mornings at 04.00am (and sometimes during the week for no discernible reason) .... and spasmodically at other times on different days (practice perhaps, but before dawn?).
For five consecutive nights one week, the local church was seemingly taken over by a visiting 'fire-and brimstone' preacher who loudly harangued his audience with the sound system cranked way up....there was also a choir: and the singing was most pleasant!
As I walked to the office, I'd pass a Hare Krishna temple and was sometimes invited in - they offered free, take-away, vegetarian lunch three times a week (bring your own containers).
Fiji is bi-national (if that's a word): very broadly, about 50% Fijian (now, more correctly, known as: iTaukei) and 50% Indian and they tend to stick to their own individual culture. However the province I was in was around 97,000 Fijian and 126,000 Indian. The Indian contingent were originally recruited as cane cutters...they now represent the commercial heart of the country. The office I was working in had around 30 employees and the ethnic divergence was distinctly more Indian. They were all completely bi-lingual and the Fijians would speak Fijian to each other and the Indians would speak Hindi to each other - but easily change to speak English if a Fijian was speaking to someone of Indian heritage (or vice-versa), or to someone else.....like me! Generally, most people spoke English, and: signs, menus, printed materials, advertising and mainstream television were all in English.
Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages carrying Indian indentured labourers (basically to cut sugar cane) to Fiji. A total of 60,965 passengers left India but only 60,553 (including births at sea) arrived in Fiji. Sailing ships took, on average, seventy-three days for the trip while later steamers took thirty days.
Ethnic Indians outnumbered indigenous Fijians from 1956 through to the late 1980s. This was due to the death of 1/3 of the indigenous population, mainly male and children, that died from smallpox contracted when King Cakobau and other chiefs returned from a trip to Australia during which they caught smallpox. The percentage of indigenous female population increased as a result, and the native male population was scarce at one stage, but by 2000 their share of the population had declined to 43.7%, because of a higher ethnic-Fijian birth-rate and there was greater tendency of Fijian Indians to emigrate. Emigration accelerated following the coups of 1987 (which removed an Indian-supported government from power and, for a time, ushered in a constitution that discriminated against them in numerous ways) and of 2000 (which removed an Indian Prime Minister from office).
Political differences between the two communities, rather than ideological, have characterised Fijian politics since independence, with the two communities generally voting for different political parties. The National Federation Party, was the party favoured overwhelmingly by the Indian community throughout most of the nation's history, but support gradually collapsed.
Currently, the difference of the two primary ethnicities is about: 51% Fijian and 44% Indian. About 33% are Hindu and 52% are Christian.
I was talking about my trip to India with one of the Indo-Fijian staff and asked him if he had even been to India. He had not, but was interested in going on an all-inclusive package tour. I was amazed to hear that the home-based Indians consider the Fijian residents as 'unclean' because: when their forefathers travelled to Fiji, there was a 'shortage' of woman partners resulting in inter-class relationships. So, now, they are ALL considered as being of a lower caste because they did not adhere to the age old caste system and any elements of higher caste has been irreparably diluted..
The Fijian flag currently features the Union Jack (as do 5 other independent - like Australian and New Zealand and 23 non-independent - countries) in the top left corner; however: there is currently a referendum in Fiji on choosing a new design for their flag, without a Union Jack.
Perhaps not 'oddly': in a country that has traditionally relied on sugar to support its economy; diabetes is a big problem in Fiji and the incidences of limb amputation is an almost common result.
Interesting how people judge their ranking in life by the number of FaceBook 'friends' they have. I've whittled mine down to about 20 - if you are still there: you must be 'special'! AND: you may not have noticed but I don't inflict my every move on even that limited congregation - I email an updated link to this blog which people can either just delete or elect to read if tempted / if you have read this far......!
I found the town of Lautoka a might befuddling, although it was a relatively short assignment so there was not enough time to really analyse. Apart from the ethic mix there was the question of safety and security. I was living in what could be called suburbia in Lautoka, in an apartment facing a side street. However the traffic racket, compounded by buses that were noisy, noxious exhaust-polluting, gears crashing as they changed down to go up a short hill and looked like they were 'new' in the 1950s was quite high and virtually continuous.
On my walk to and from the office - there was a distinctly noticeable difference in the types of housing, the higher up the hill one trekked: the flasher and more up market the standard of housing. It was not possible to make a definitive indictment, but the distinct possibility was that the lower houses were occupied by indigenous iTaukei (Fijian) and the higher ones by Indo-Fijians.
Most houses surrounding us had dogs and EVERY night they had an interactive conference, enhanced with disagreements or rehearsals for a high decibel 'Bach (bark) Concerto'!
The extent of 'protection' around all the houses was blatant; with high front fences and every house embellished with substantial grills on every window and door. It all looked like I was back in PNG. I wondered if it was all just something that had lingered from a troubled past and had become accepted as the norm. However, I was informed about regular instances of break-ins and stealing.
I had a 30-minute walk to and from the office every morning and evening - and walked to the local supermarket early on Saturday mornings after doing my laundry - (admittedly all in daylight) and felt totally safe. The only interaction with locals on the walks was a polite 'good morning' or 'good afternoon' or a friendly 'bula' (the traditional Fijian welcome). Although, one of the staff was late for work one morning as he had been externally embroiled in a drunken fight and was carted off to the police station as a witness.
There was a tradition at the office to knock-off a bit earlier on Fridays and (on occasion) have a kava ceremony. OK: so it's 'traditional' in the Pacific and I've drunk kava on numerous occasions - the only view I have is that its preparation is unhygienic, it tastes like it looks: muddy water; and it does absolutely nothing psychologically (perhaps I've never consumed enough). Drinking something after the person preparing it is virtually and continually washing their hands in the liquid is kinda off-putting! Traditionally in Tonga, the root was to be chewed by a virgin female who then spat the juice into a bowl to be diluted to create the drink. The joke was that the tradition died out because they could no longer find any virgins. On the other hand, my local client in Vav'au in Tonga used to go to a kava club and return at 3am or so. One day: I asked him how he got home? The answer was: "I floated."
On another occasion, all the staff contributed and we had a 'feast' mid-afternoon on a Friday to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Oh, in Fiji they drive on the right side of the road. I'm using the definition of 'right' as meaning: 'correct' - in other words: they drive on the left!
Oddly: shops in Fiji promote and sell tickets in Australian-based lotto. And: there are retail outlets devoted to betting on Australian horse races! And: the retail outlets tend to have a prediction to have large speakers by their front door belting out raucous modern rap-type noise (I decline to call it 'music') or that discordant, shrill Bollywood clamour.
There were three young female volunteers from an Aussie university at the office for a few weeks who were assisting with research into suicide. Apparently, it is a major problem with predominantly young Indo-Fijian women succumbing (most drinking weed killer!) due to cultural pressures to be married, pregnancy, family relationships and families emigrating.
One day, I went with the CEO, a driver and another staff member to the organisation's branch office in Fiji's capital: Suva. It's about a 3-hour drive from Nadi, mostly following the Pacific coast on a reasonable road and past a variety of accommodations from luxury resorts to virtual slum habitation. A fact that was rather difficult to comprehend was that: I come from a smallish city (Perth) but more people live there than in the entire country of Fiji!
A member of staff had developed a bad cough - which he very kindly distributed around the office - including me. The cough just would not go away and became rather debilitating because of the regular 'cough-up-a-lung' strength coughs, embellished with green phlegm production (you probably did not need to know that?). Wracking coughing all night, resulting in little sleep. I self-diagnosed bronchitis - antibiotics and cough medicine were doing nothing! I contacted our travel doctor and the doc reckoned I had a 'viral upper respiratory tract infection'. I asked if a extra dose of antibiotics might frighted it away and he recommended Augmentin Duo Forte - so I asked for it at the local pharmacy. The gal behind the counter (presumably a pharmacist?) nearly freaked out and was yelling questions at me over the heads of other customers, like "Have you taken this before" and "Are you allergic to anything?". I said that my doctor had recommended that I take it - so it was supplied, without a script. Across the top of the package in large bold letters was: PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINE! Every time I felt I was getting better (such as not coughing on the hour, every hour, all night) and after sleeping for a whole couple of hours I'd be feeling pleased - only to be doubled over in a paroxysm of convulsive coughs - sort of: catch-up mode for not coughing for a while! Get home Friday - see the doc early Monday morning!
Odd how these assignments seem to go in cycles - part of the previous assignment was dealing with HIV-Aids patients, STIs, and the accompanying problems. This one was dealing with counselling troubled individuals. Just before I left, they were asked to council staff at a company where a couple had worked - the husband killed their two little kids, tried to murder his wife (she was currently still alive) then he committed suicide!!! Unfortunately: this is only superficially a 'South Pacific Paradise'.
SO - home for what could be a while as the Aussie government has significantly cut aid funding and may not be sending any volunteers until February ......
Few photos on
https://picasaweb.google.com/116314286847914749962/FIJILautoka